Everyone loves a good fairytale - from wishing that they were a princess just waiting to be whisked off into the sunset by a handsome prince and live happily ever after to singing along to all the Disney classics without a care in the world.
With the latest trailer for the Beauty and the Beast live-action remake being revealed yesterday, we got thinking about the origins of some of our favourite Disney classics - and they're not exactly full of happy endings - be prepared, they're pretty horrendous...
Cinderella
In the Brothers Grimm version there is no fairy godmother - instead Cinderella plants a tree by her mother's grave and prays underneath it everyday. It's under this tree where she finds the three dresses to where to each ball - in the story there is more than one ball. As for losing her glass slipper; she doesn't lose it because she is in a rush - the prince covers the steps in pitch to make her stick to them but instead she loses a slipper.
Now for the gruesome bit - to be able to fit into the slippers, her stepsisters cut off their toes and their heels so that they can fit into the tiny glass slippers. Cinderella's trustee bird friends then notify the prince that the slipper is covered in blood, it is then that he realises that Cinderella is the true owner. The stepsisters attend the wedding of Cinderella and the prince to get on her good side, but they end up having their eyes pecked out by doves.
Beauty and the Beast
The Disney version is pretty much the same as the original tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve but one thing that was left out what that not only did her father used to be rich, then lost his fortune to debt, but she also had two sisters. Her sisters got so jealous at the life Belle was living in the castle with Beast that when she goes home to visit them, they try to persuade her to stay longer, in the hope that the Beast gets angry and upon her return will eat her alive.
The Little Mermaid
The major twist in this story is what will happen to Ariel if she fails to make the prince kiss her and fall in love with her. In the Hans Christian Andersen tale, the punishment for failing to marry is prince is not turning back into a mermaid, but death. Another thing that Disney failed to mention is that whilst Ariel has legs, every step she takes will feel like she is walking on sharp shards of glass.
Just like the film, the prince does end up marrying another woman - the one he thinks saved him but instead of Ariel and her friends driving the sea witch back to the ocean, Ariel has to kill the prince. If she kills the prince, then she can turn back into a mermaid and doesn't have to die. But she just can't bring herself to kill him. Instead she throws herself back into ocean, where she turns into sea foam.
Sleeping Beauty
Now this one is rather messed up - in the Giambattista Basile story, a king stumbled upon Sleeping Beauty's castle and climbs up the ladder through a window when no one answers to his knocking. There he finds the princess, unconscious and unresponsive to his calls. He then carries her off to the bed and rapes her then leaves. She then awakens after she gives birth to twins that suck the flax - from the spindle - out of her finger. The king then returns and they both end up falling in love, despite him being married to somebody else.
His wife then seeks revenge and attempts to kill the twins, cook them and feed them to the king as well as trying to burn the princess at the stake. Unsuccessful, the king and Aurora end up getting married and living happily ever after.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
In the Brothers Grimm story, just like the Disney movie, the evil queen asks the hunter to take Snow White into the forest, kill her and return with her lungs and liver. Unable to do this, he tells her to run and returns with a boar's lungs and liver instead. Thinking that the organs are in fact Snow White's the queen then eats them. After finding out that Snow White is well and truly alive, the queen takes matters into her own hands - by giving her a poison apple.
Just like the film, she bites the apple and is unable to be awoken and placed in a glass coffin. When a prince comes by, he wants to take her away, instead of giving her the kiss of life. The dwarves reluctantly agree. Whilst she is being carried away, the carriers trip, causing the poison apple to become dislodged from her throat. Her and the prince get married, and as punishment, the queen is invited and forced to wear burning hot iron shoes and dance until she dies.
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